Introduction: While surgery is an ancient art form, the concepts of antisepsis and asepsis only matured into practice in the mid to late 19th century. The finding of Germ Theory by Louis Pasteur in 19861 pivoted our understanding of peri-operative infections from the belief that their aetiology was “bad air” amongst other theories, to the knowledge that they were caused by bacterial pathogens. Spurred on by this discovery, Victorian Era Surgeon Joseph Lister is credited for developing the basic framework of our modern aseptic standard in surgery. Principles: Many core principles of surgical sterility have been influenced by the antiseptic methods of Joseph Lister. These included:  Antiseptic skin preparations: Lister’s use of Carbolic Acid solution used to disinfect air in operating rooms, and application topically to compound fractures in is landmark work on orthopaedic injuries yielded a significant reduction in infection rates.  Surgical instrument sterilisation: Lister’s understanding and experience in anti-sepsis led to his support of non-porous surgical instruments such as steel, paving the way for modern sterilisation standards. As trivial as instruction on handwashing and surgical gloving may be to the modern surgeon, these were revolutionary sterility systems when published in Lister’s Lancet series of 1866 to 1867. Discussion: To reflect topics as basic as surgical sterility should humble the modern surgeon, reminding us that current standards of practice may to seem antiquated to practicing surgeons of the future.